Gilda

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, the smalltime crook and dice gambler Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) has just cheated American sailors and wins a great amount of money. Soon a thief tries to steal his money but he is saved by the stranger Ballin Mundson (George Macready). Mundson tells him about an illegal casino and Johnny cheats at the blackjack table and is forced to go to an office where he finds that Mundson is the owner of the casino. Johnny starts working for Mundson as his right-man in the casino. Their relationship changes when Mundson returns from a trip bringing his new wife Gilda (Rita Hayworth) that has a past with Johnny. When Mundson is presumed dead in a plane crash, the hatred of Johnny and Gilda grows with the behavior of the easy Gilda that is always dating different men. "Gilda" is a movie with wonderful cinematography, good performances and a story with romance, murder, double-cross and jealousy and would be a great film-noir like many others from the 40's. But the splendorous, gorgeous, wonderful, marvelous, sensuous, beautiful, sexy and lovely Rita Hayworth that makes the difference. The sentence "There never was a woman like Gilda!" is perfect to describe this actress in the role of the femme-fatal Gilda. Last time I saw Gilda was on 22 Jul 2003 and today (17 February 2014) I have just seen it again maybe for the fifth or sixth time and I never get tired of "Gilda". My vote is nine. Title (Brazil): "Gilda"

Johnny Farrell, a New York gambler, is seen as the opening of the film playing on the waterfront in Buenos Aires with some shady characters. He is a lucky man who makes the mistake of stopping to count his money, something that if he had listened to that song, "The Gambler", he never would have done. When someone appears with a gun to mug him, he is saved by the eerily handsome Ballin Mundson, a man who sees possibilities in the younger man. Johnny, who has been invited to visit Mundson's casino, pays a visit and again, he is lucky playing blackjack, but the boss suspects the gambler is cheating. After calling him to the office, Mundson agrees to employ Johnny, who will be working for him in protecting his interests. Johnny notices a few odd things that don't sit well with him. When he questions Mundson about it, the explanation doesn't satisfy him, but he plays along. It has been hinted about a homosexual context between Mundson and Johnny. Mundson gives the impression that he likes Johnny a bit too much and Johnny, in appearing grateful for his employment at the casino, also rises the question about an under current between them. When Mundson returns with a new wife, surprising Johnny, it turns out he had known, and perhaps loved, Gilda in New York. Gilda has a mean disposition toward Johnny and does everything possible to get him in trouble. Their repartee gives the film an edge because it's clear that whatever they had is still going on. Gilda wants to have fun at whatever expense, but Johnny is always a step ahead of her in foiling whatever attempts she makes with every new man to enjoy herself. After a tragic air accident where Mundson dies, Gilda marries Johnny, but they grow apart. She flees to Montevideo where she embarks in a career as a singer and dancer. We see her doing two numbers that are show stoppers, "Amado Mio", and "Put the Blame on Mame". She is tricked back to Buenos Aires where Johnny is awaiting for her, but fate has it that the Buenos Aires experience has been bad for both of them and the next best thing is to go back home, as a couple. Charles Vidor directed with sure hand a story that, at times, doesn't make much sense. The story was adapted for the screen by Jo Eisinger. The plot, also, reminds us about "Casablanca" in that both Johnny and Gilda are in a foreign land far from their native turf and are at the mercy of a man who is rich and powerful to make them pay for their betrayal. Supposedly, Humphrey Bogart was the choice for playing Johnny, but it would have been a different film altogether than the one that Charles Vidor made. Rita Hayworth is billed over the title. She was at the height of her career in Hollywood. She was a beautiful woman with such magnetism to get any man's attention by just being there. Ms. Hayworth is helped enormously by Jean Louis' wardrobe. Especially effective the gown she wears to sing "Put the Blame on Mame". That number will remain the hallmark of her work. Glenn Ford, on the other hand, is a bit unsure in some key moments, especially during the masked ball. George McCready is perfect as the villainous Ballin Mundson. Steven Geray also makes a valuable contribution as the bathroom attendant who calls Johnny a peasant. The copy of "Gilda" we watched on TCM recently has been lovingly restored to a crisp black and white originally shot by Rudolph Mate, its cinematographer. Doris Fisher's songs are perfect and serve as a delightful distraction for showing a playful Rita Hayworth doing justice to both numbers. King Vidor's direction elevated the film to a higher status. This movie, even sixty years later, still has a great look and it's a joy to watch after a few prior viewings.

While cleaning up on the docks of Buenos Aires, crooked American gambler Glenn Ford is spotted by an imposingly cool casino owner and is eventually brought aboard as his co-manager. Story of the high roller and the low roller begins with great promise, and the tactful yet touchy relationship between the men is intriguing, yet when the casino czar's lady enters--tossing her hair around like an overheated wildcat--the narrative loses its drive and becomes a drudge, with Ford playing bodyguard, lover, and eventually rebuffed husband. The most curious thing about this popular melodrama is that Rita Hayworth herself considered the character of Gilda Mundson her most iconic role--odd since Gilda is little more than a brittle tease, trivial to men and used as a prop. Gilda is the most shallow aspect of the film itself, and when she spoils the closeness between the two men, one can almost feel everything on-screen dissipate. Too bad...the ingredients were here for a tough little crime flick, though perhaps the film was too far ahead of its time and had to be cleaned up for the sake of 1940s morality. The final results are pure soap. ** from ****

This classic film noir is a very entertaining film and the casting is good although I do think Glenn Ford could have been played by any of a number of leading men. Ford was always a solid actor but opposite the incredibly sexy Rita Hayworth the audience is forced to some degree to forget logic and common sense. Great use of shadows that you come to expect in this genre and they photographed Hayworth beautifully. How can you forget the first time Hayworth pops up with her beautiful red hair flowing? There are several great profile shots of her throughout the film. And that great shot of her leg pointed up! The script is entertaining although I do believe its a notch below "Double Indemnity" and "Laura". The last half hour I thought was a little tiresome and the ending really surprises no one. I know others think this is one of the all time classics but I do not. I understand the mass appeal and it is a well made drama but like I said, its a notch below others in this genre. Also, Hayworth was pregnant during filming and in certain shots you can notice it. And her singing voice during the big number is dubbed. Good cinematography and shadowy characters make up for the shortcomings in the last part of the script. Fun film.

This is one of those films I never think is all that good, but I keep going back to it every four or five years. Perhaps it's just to get another look at Rita Hayworth while she was still THE glamor woman of the period (1940 to about 1948). At times, she is just jaw-dropping stunning. Glenn Ford provides some narration and does his normally-competent job as the lead actor but I really liked George Macready's performance more. He is really good as the rich husband, just fascinating to watch. This film would have been so much better had it been cut about 20 minutes. It bogs down a little over halfway through (but recovers). The dialog is what makes this story interesting for the most part, particularly in the first half of the film which is far better than the second half, and that includes the cinematography. The second half is a lot more melodrama than film noir.

Charles Vidor's "Gilda" opens to a noir world of gambling, shifting uncertainties with a crooked crapshooter whose self-made luck is about to change at the close of World War II. Leaving with his winnings, Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) is rescued by a nasty scar- faced casino owner Ballin Mundson (George Macready) with a dagger-cane The handsome gambler offers himself up as a croupier-manager to run Ballin's illegal joint… Promising to be faithful, Johnny is immediately accepted Unfortunately this included Ballin's dazzling new bride Gilda (Rita Hayworth), who happens to be Farrell's ex- girlfriend… Thus begins one of the most tortuous and hard to follow of noir's many twists and turns Rita captured everything about Gilda's character… She is extremely beautiful, malicious, provocative, greedy, vengeful, and awfully superstitious… And she makes it sound! There is a heat that one could feel in Gilda and Johnny and its intensity is pretty high… The movie shifts into a tremendous struggle between temptation and loyalty, challenge and envy, suspicion and mistrust, passion and desire… This noirish thriller reunited a two legendary stars in a magical moment that reflected strongly a forbidden love

The most amazing thing about this film is the number of excellent reviews. Granted its fun to watch Rita do a few numbers, and there are some nice noir touches. But the dialog is so incredibly lame, with Gilda mouthing Freudian nonsense and the threesome repeating ad nauseam that they hate one another, but love one another, then hate....The plot is imbecilic, the acting absurd, the love triangle preposterous, and the editing almost non existent. One could list these missteps but to what avail? If its film noir, you expect a lost of this B type stuff. But lets call a dame a dame, and not make more of her than she's worth. Its possible the film could have been redeemed somewhat if the ending had gone the way the film was heading, but I'm sure the Hollywood moguls stepped in to give it a happy ending, which finished off whatever merit the film had up to then.

Like "Casablanca," this film involves a saloon keeper in a love triangle, but that's about all this lackluster film has in common with that classic. Hayworth looks fabulous, especially when putting the blame on Mame, and she puts her considerable assets on display, but acting talent is not among them. Ford is the angry young man, although his anger towards Hayworth is never clearly explained. One would expect a flashback to their earlier relationship, but it never comes. Although it is a good-looking production, the script is anemic, with nothing interesting happening for at least the first half, and then some poorly contrived situations are presented.

I am puzzled, not to say mystified, by the banquet of praise heaped upon this flick in this space. I put this on my Netflix queue because of the presence of Glenn Ford, an actor I have come to admire, and because I was curious about the supposed "homoerotic" subtext. As far as the latter, it was not in evidence at all. Whether this was because it was diluted so much by the Code at the time, who can say? As far as the former, Ford does what he can with a script that is incoherent, bloated and affected, but his acting can't make it hang together. The relationship between Jimmy Farrel and Gilda is not just opaque, but incomprehensible. Love, hate, love, hate - after a while one's neck hurts from going back and forth. The business with the titanium monopoly is an obscure sideshow. The movie can't seem to decide what it wants to be about, and what it winds up being about - Jimmy and Gilda - is just too unconvincing to work. As far as Rita Hayworth, like Elizabeth Taylor one wonders whether her primary draw is her looks rather than her acting ability. Hayworth's two song numbers are gratuitous, and detract from the few plot threads that we are asked to follow. I was distinctly underwhelmed.

Rita Hayworth positively sizzles as Gilda in this film-noir classic. From her initial hair-tossing scene to her near striptease while she sings "Put the Blame on Mame," Hayworth is captivating and more than convincing as the object of every man's desires. However, beyond the overtly heterosexual lures of Ms. Hayworth lurks a complex and ambiguous romantic triangle that provides more intrigue than the surface plot, which involves a gambling casino that is a front for shady operations that originated in a recently defeated, Fascist country. Hayworth may either be the intruding wedge that comes between Glenn Ford and George Macready or the object of both men's romantic interests. From the initial meeting between Ford as two-bit gambler Johnny Farrell and Macready as Ballin Mundson the casino owner, an ambiguous, possibly homo-erotic, attraction is established between the two men. The lingering looks that they exchange can be read in several ways, but Bogie never looked into Cagney's eyes like Ford looks into Macready's. After Ford begins to work for Macready, his devoted care and slavish attention to his boss's needs exceed the bounds of employee and employer. When Hayworth moves into Macready's home as his new wife, Ford returns the key to the house as though he were a jilted lover. Ford's increasing jealousy becomes apparent after Hayworth's arrival on the scene, but it is unclear of whom he is jealous, Hayworth or Macready or possibly both. Perhaps Ford's character is as unsure of his own feelings as is the viewer, which makes the ambiguity even more intriguing. Macready's jealousy also grows as the heat between Ford and Hayworth intensifies, but, again, it is ambiguous of whom he is jealous. With a dazzling performance by Hayworth, excellent black-and-white photography by Rudoph Mate, fine direction by Charles Vidor, and layers of psychological possibilities to ponder, "Gilda" is as golden as its title suggests.